


A Dangerous Touch - A Descendants/Night Huntress Novel

by clareabshire



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies), Night Huntress Series - Jeaniene Frost
Genre: F/F, Ghosts, Ghouls, Lesbian Vampires, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-15 11:47:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29313579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clareabshire/pseuds/clareabshire
Summary: Mal and Uma have defeated their first enemy, but with Mal's confidence shattered by coming so close to death she flies to Romania to train with the one and only - Vlad Tepesh - while Uma heads to New Orleans to meet the Voodoo Queen, her ancestor. Does absence make the heart grow founder? When both women return to one another forever changed by their experiences, Uma realizes she doesn't know as much about Vampire society as she thought and Mal doesn't have what it takes to control a demigod. With a new power dynamic and both women with a strong urge to control everything around them, can they come together as a couple? Or will they burn each other down with one, Dangerous Touch?Book 2 in the Descendants/Night Huntress universeBook 1: A Daring Kiss
Relationships: Leila Dalton/Vlad Tepesh, Mal/Uma (Disney)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5





	1. Prologue

Uma didn’t have many breaking points in her life; she had already healed from her childhood traumas, spent time checking in with herself, and taking time to do her self care at least once a month… and yet she found herself furious, anger ripping through her body and raging outwards the purple haired woman she thought was her perfect match. 

“You have no _right_ to claim me as your lover and then _leave_ me so viciously! How dare you think you can just emotionally disappear and then when I find some version of the comfort you have taken away from me you think you can just kill them? Kill them in front of me? You are a sick and dirty bastard.” 

“You always knew this was a possibility, you knew what you were getting into.” Mal said back from her side of the long dining table 

“You vowed to be my devoted partner! To love me, to protect me, and to make sure my well-being is above all your other duties! Instead, you left me alone, frightened, and KILLED the one friend I have made here in your castle!” 

Mal was silent and when she finally spoke, her voice was icy. “Then I guess you should leave, run back to Majestic in New Orleans.” 

Uma’s face fell from her anger to disbelief “You really want me away from you that badly?” 

“I want you to stop telling me how awful I am,” 

“I want you to realize you’re being an ass, and FIX IT.” 

That’s Uma picked up the glass wine bottle and threw it at Mal’s head. As Uma continued training with Majestic her speed and agility had gone up she was nowhere as fast as the master vampire across the room but the bottle was, Mal only moved a second before it hit her but in the same moment moved to Uma and grabbed both of her wrists and had her pinned to the wall. 

And Maleficent smelled... amazing, she hadn’t been this close to her lover in over a month and the tension between the pair had risen in many…  _ many  _ ways. Mal was pressed up against Uma her body warmer than the average vampire due to her pyrokinesis and Uma had ached for Maleficent; for her to run to Uma and apologize to kiss away her tears and make things right, but that didn’t happen. Now, Mal is pressed against her, staring into her eyes and Uma just wants to be kissed. She wants things to be better. She wants to go back to how happy she was just a few months ago. 

“No, Uma. You don’t get to throw things at me, you can insult me all you want but you will not throw anything else at me. Do you understand?” Mal’s voice was stern, as unmoving as a bolder. 

Tears welled up in Uma’s eyes “Why do I always have to be the one to apologize?” Her head drops to Mal’s shoulder as she begins to cry. Mal doesn’t hold her, doesn’t wrap her arms around her like she would have done a couple months ago but she does let go of her wrists and she does not pull away from Uma. 

“We should talk about this… Where did this all go wrong?” Mal asks 

“When I left for New Orleans and when you went to Romania.” 

“Alright… let’s start there.” 


	2. Chapter One

“I don’t want to leave this bed,” Uma whines happily against Mal’s shoulder. The couple had been in bed together for three days, only getting up for bathroom breaks, and down to the dining room for meals, then back to bed. Living in a modern Auradon castle with a vampire and her staff for the past few days had been amazing to the young Demigod. 

Mal smiled down at Uma who was still kissing at Mal’s warm pale skin “We have to leave, you know it’s no longer safe here. In fact, we have probably stayed here for too long, darling. When one enemy comes out of the shadows more are sure to follow.” 

Uma nods, realistically, she understood exactly why Maleficent wanted to leave Auradon. Just a few days ago Uma had been kidnapped by Audrey, a vampire Maleficent had changed more than a hundred years prior who had been upset with Mal for killing her lover and in return wanted to kill Uma in front of Mal and Audrey had succeeded. What no one had planned on was Uma being the daughter of a god. When Uma had died she met her father in the underworld and he was indeed the bridge between the two worlds. The man in the boat taking lost souls to the underworld. He told Uma her siblings needed her and she needed to stay alive, get her training and find Ashael and Veritas… but the most chilling part was hearing that her lover had taken her off of a course she didn’t even know she was so supposed to be on.

Why did her father who had no interest in Uma as a person but only as a key to her siblings Ashael and Veritas tell her who she should or should not be with? What in the parental hell was that? Uma’s mother who was probably even  _ less  _ emotionally present didn’t even get that much say. 

“My love,” Mal says, pulling Uma out of her own head “Where did you go?” 

Uma sighs and shakes her head pushing her long teal green hair against her back “Sorry, I was thinking too much, I should shower so we can get ready to go. Care to join me?” 

Mal sits up and grins “Oh, absolutely.” 

“I hope Carlos is enjoying Switzerland,” Uma says and Mal cringes inwardly, she knew that Uma didn’t really understand why she had to send almost everyone in her home away but it was necessary. While being betrayed by Audrey she had infiltrated her people and found Lonnie, one of the humans she keeps in her homes to feed her vampires while she put her through school - taught her to become a witchling and betray Maleficent. After that night when she, Evie, and Uma had returned back to her castle she had called six cars to send her human and vampire staff alike away. Only keeping her most trusted friend and co-ruler Evie to stay in the home with them, and then brought in a new human staff to cook whenever Uma was hungry during their last few days there. 

Mal didn’t want to stay in Auradon at all, she wanted to take Uma far, far away from anyone else who believed they could use her new lover as bait to hurt Maleficent, but Mal knew that Uma was leaving for New Orleans with her family and with her newly found demigod status and Evie on the same floor if something were to happen Mal had to believe the three of them could handle what was thrown at them. 

But what was thrown, was Mal. 

Over the past few centuries Mal had truly begun to relax, she knew she was one of the strongest and most ruthless vampires and the only vampire who could stand beside Valdimir Tepesh - her Twin Flame and the only other Mast Vampire who had mastered their shared power of pyrokinesis; a very rare power for vampires and with the power passed down from their sire’s - the vampires who changed them. Vlad had received his powers Tenoch and Mal from Laverna when they both realized they had the same abilities; they grew an attachment to one another - rather they wanted to admit to it or not. 

Mal was beginning to realize how much relaxing and relying on the fact that she was the best had made her become… average. 

When Mal had begun her fight with Audrey, Lonnie had spelled her, taking away her ability to use fire and Mal’s fighting skills were worse than Audrey. When Maleficent was closer to six hundred years old. 

That’s how Maleficent knew she needed to see Vlad again and quite essentially, get her ass kicked and impaled on his lawn for a couple days just to knock some sense into her. How could she have been so foolish to let her guard down so much? To the point it not only put Uma in danger, but to not know a traitor was in her home?

So Mal did the only thing she could think of, remove herself from the situation and see her Twin Flame, the only person in the world who could understand what she was feeling, with him being newly married he would also understand what it felt like for someone to come after her love. 

She sent her humans away so no one would know of her plans to leave Auradon and head to Romania as well as no one to hear Uma’s plans to meet her ancestor. She was doing all of this to keep themselves safe, Evie was leaving Auradon as well. Mal had it half in her mind to burn her house down. 

“Switzerland is a wonderful place with lots of snow this time of year and even better chocolate I know that Carlos will enjoy both of those things and I know my staff there will keep quite good care of him.” Mal answers Uma and then pulls her in by her waist and kisses her forehead. Even with a lot on her mind, she was mindful of keeping the physical touch going when she knew the pair would be apart for a while. 

Neither woman really knew how long they would be away for, they both knew this was something they needed, training, learning, and growing for the better would come of this so they didn’t want to put a timestamp on that, and goddess only knows how long Mal will be impaled for. 

“I’ve called four cars for us, they’re all going to park in the garage, we all get into separate cars and they’re all going to head off in different directions just in case anyone is watching. I told the drivers to take the long way to the airport for you, Uma, and Mal you’re gonna be heading your usual jet station and I’m taking the drive to Los Angeles.” Evie says as she breezes into the kitchen her long blue black shining brightly against her pale skin and her brown eyes sparkling. Evie had taken the destruction of the past week with grace, nothing ever really phased her. 

“Why the extra car though?” Uma asked as she made her way to fridge pulling out milk and then heading to the cereal “There’s just the three of us,” 

“In case they are watching, they’re going to have to decide which cars to follow and wonder who’s in them. When the staff left the sun was rising which means most vampires who could be enemies are sleeping, but now, it’s closer to five pm, everyone will be waking up soon. Ghouls stay on the nocturnal schedule when they spend more time with the undead than the humans.” 

Uma nods in understanding as she pours herself some cinnamon toast crunch. Mal smiled as she watched her, Uma adjusted well to the nocturnal schedule in the past couple of days, dying had taken a lot out of her - as well as transforming Maleficent into… more of a creature than she was before. Mal grinned again, she couldn’t wait to tell Vlad about that.

Mal had also noticed Uma had been eating a lot more in the past few days she couldn’t tell if it was because of how much love they were making in their free time or if she was still exhausted from dying - when someone dies and become undead if they are turned into a vampire they spend weeks to a month in a blood craze and then knocking completely unconscious the moment the sun rises and when someone becomes a ghoul their mind is fuzzy for the first few days. Is eating more what happens to a demigod after they die? 

Mal worried about Uma, worried about Uma being away from her for so long and also seeing Majestic. Majestic was the ghoul queen of New Orleans and not someone Maleficent was particularly fond of. She hadn’t told her lover of the past she had with Majestic but Uma had also… never asked. 

When Uma finishes eating she sits herself down in Mal’s lap, straddling her and wrapping her arms around Mal’s neck. Uma gives her a sweet kiss “Are you nervous about seeing Tepesh?” Uma asks and runs a hand through Mal short purple locks - she leans in close so their noses touch 

“He’s definitely going to kick my ass, but I think the ass kicking is needed. I have been relaxing for too long and I know he will get me back into shape.” 

“Don’t let him hurt you too badly,” Uma tells Mal “I want you coming back to me in one piece,” 

“You know if Vlad burns something off me, it’ll grow right back?” 

Uma cringes hard and pulls back from Mal to get a look at her face “Honey I adore you but if you ever say something that like to me again and I have to picture your arm growing back I will die.”

Mal laughs aloud and playfully bites down on Uma’s shoulder who laughs warmly and hugs her lover. 

“I’m going to miss you so much,” Uma says “I don’t want to be apart from you so soon, I feel like we were just getting into the flow of being together.” 

“But time away they say makes the heart grow fonder,” 

Uma ignores that and kisses Mal, Uma takes extra sweet from the cereal. They spend the last of their time together like that, kissing and laughing until Evie let them know their cars had arrived. Mal takes Uma’s hand and leads her to her car but before she opens the door she hands Uma a simple flip phone. 

“I’m going to call you on this phone at midnight New Orleans time, just to check in and make sure you’re alright. Please make sure to answer my love, even if you can’t talk for long I just want to make sure you and your family are safe. If you don’t answer I will assume the worst my love and I won’t be close enough to just fly and come and get you.” 

Uma nods her head “Okay, I’ll keep it on me,” 

“My number is the only one saved in there if you need anything, absolutely anything you call me and I will make it happen for you. I don’t have many connections in New Orleans but I have a few and I will have them at your beck and call in a moment's time.” 

Uma grins “Thank you,” she leans in and gives Mal another kiss. She takes the flip phone and Mal opens the door for her and Uma slides into the escalade. “I’ll see you soon,”

Mal smiles back “I’ll see you soon.” 


	3. Chapter Two

The car takes many twists and turns but eventually ends up at the airport where Uma waits for her mother to arrive, Ursula who’s always late arrives a good twenty minutes later when she looks Uma they give each other an unfamiliar smile. “So, we’re finally doing this,” Uma says and her mother nods. 

“We are,” 

Uma and her mother didn’t have the worst relationship in the world but not the best either, if they weren’t talking about their shared business Ursula’s Fish and Chips or the flower shop there simply wasn’t much to talk about. Ursula never spent any time trying to get to know her daughter and Uma didn’t really want to  _ know _ her mother. Learning her heritage though does mean she needs to get to know her and now Marie Laveau. Even though she was more known as Majestic her mother called her Maire, her given name from all those centuries ago. 

“Why did you take my memories of meeting Majestic?” Uma asks when the two women are sitting in their first class seats in the plane both with glasses of champagne in their hands. “I’ve been trying to think of reasons why you would do that and I can’t see any.”

Ursula sighs and leans back in her seat and takes a long sip from her flute glass “I think that’s something Marie will have to explain to you, it was more of her decision than mine” 

Uma wanted to say  _ well you’re my mother not her  _ but didn’t feel up to the argument. 

Uma found herself waiting for something to happen, for the plane to take off, for someone to start screaming, for an engine to blow,  _ something.  _ But instead she had to sit in the uncomfortable silence with her mother and she just had to pray for this trip to go well. 

New Orleans is a city like no other and is alive and well, even at noon the streets are full of people, vendors, music, and dancing. The heat is stifling in the way that makes Uma want to jump in the pool and lounge in the sun. The beats are jazzy and everyone looks like they're having a great time. 

There’s a wide mix of ghouls, vampires, humans, and ghosts. Uma finds herself gripping her mother’s hand like she used to when she was a child so she doesn’t lose her in the crowd and the wide mixes of energies. When someone radiates undead power Uma can feel it, whether it’s like a brush along her skin or like she stuck a fork in a outlet. Power is power and power  _ calls  _ to power.

“Do you see them too?" Uma asks her mother looking at a pair of ghosts floating beside them, they’re apparitions - meaning they repeat something that happened in their mortal life over and over with no real thoughts or meaning. 

“Yes,” her mother says 

Uma didn’t know her mother was a practicing witch, her family bloodline specializes in voodoo. Uma never got to learn how talented her mother was in the magics because she kept it a secret from her but now, she finally could. Ursula leads Uma to a cemetery and honestly, Uma shouldn’t have been as surprised as she felt to be honest. The graveyard didn’t feel spooky or scary though, it was still daytime and living in Auradon where the unspoken queen of the city was the woman Uma just happened to be dating, it took a lot to cause her genuine fear. 

They reach a coping grave with a man standing in front of it not facing Uma or Ursula but facing the grave instead, Ursula cleared her throat. 

“Ah, ah, ah,” He says “No need for that,” he has a thick french accent, he turns to face them dramatically and slowly and it takes Uma no time to realize how handsome he is. He’s a dark skinned black man with skin so deep it reminded Uma of a moonlight, his eyes were small and almond shaped leaving room for his wide spread nose and full lips. His beard was thick and as silver as the weapons in Uma’s jacket. The man was so tall he looked down at both Uma and her mother. If Uma had half her mind she would tell him how beautiful he was but she was too lost in the shape of his eyes. 

“Hello, Jacques,” Ursula says, she’s smirking at him like they have history and it’s confirmed when she says “long time, no see,” 

Jacques nods his head his own grin on his face “I’m happy to see you both arrived safely and soundly,” his eyes turn to meet Uma’s “It’s very nice to meet you, Cherie,” 

Uma grins as she pulls herself together “It’s nice to meet you too, Handsome,” 

Ursula groans “Not you too, Uma,” 

Jacques’ grin spreads pat formal and into something more real. “I see the resemblance already, come.” And just like that the grave begins to move, Uma eyes widen and she steps back, gripping her mother’s hand even tighter. 

“Still big on the dramatics I see,” Ursula says and she turns to face Uma and pulls her a little closer “Nothing will hurt you in here, this is more for the new ghouls and vampires. You’re under Majestic’s protection.” 

Uma is nodding her head like she agrees but is too busy watching the stone of the grave move slowly to the side and show off a stone staircase heading underground to really be listening. Uma hadn’t really looked at the grave before, it had been marked up with graffiti with gifts and offerings for majestic and watching everything move in a way she hadn’t been expecting made her go “AH” on the inside. 

“Why couldn’t Majestic meet us at the house?” Ursula asks Jacques but he just shrugs and begins walking down the stairs and into the underground darkness. The women slowly follow after him, Uma tries to keep her heart from racing. 

Uma was more than the average human, she knew of her mixed heritage as the daughter of a witch and all witches come from demons. Then she finds out she’s not the daughter from a demon line but in fact the daughter of Akon the Warden to the Underworld. The legend who drags souls from the earthly plane and sends them to eternal torment. Uma would have to ask her mom how she met the Warden but now wasn’t the time. Uma was thankful for her heritage now more than ever since she could see better in the darkness, not like a vampire or a ghoul would but better than a human.

They walked in silence for a few moments before fire slowly began to burn from torches hanging from the walls as Uma’s eyes adjusted (again) she checked out the walls to see them all covered in variations of stones that gleamed in the low light of the torches but then… the torches weren’t torches at all but instead… human skulls 

Uma did several double takes “So… Majestic is a show dog huh?” 

Ursula snickers while Jaques stays silent on the comment. 

Even as absurd as it was to have human skulls on the wall holding up pillars of flame Uma could not deny the beauty of it in that weird morbid way. It was stuffy underground and smelled just a little too moldy and wet for Uma to truly enjoy it but she understood what her mother meant when she said this was about scaring newly changed vampires and ghouls. Fear was such a strong survival tactic in the undead world that it made sense to do something like this. 

Finally at the end of the small hall it leads the three into a room with a better smell and even better lightning and a beautiful woman sitting on a velvet red sofa with royal gold accents. She was looking down, reading a nook with a soft expression on her face, not grinning nor frowning but the face you make before either expression.

She was beautiful with light brown skin that reminded Uma of the complexion of Halle Bailey with golden undertones that shined under the low chandelier, big brown eyes, thick rounded eyebrows, and small but full lips. Her cheeks were rosy with blush but no other makeup took place on her face. When she looks up her eyes find Uma’s instantly, they stare at each other and Uma can’t help but feel like she’s known this woman for her whole life by just her eyes, somewhere deep down maybe those memories were still locked somewhere in her brain instead of gone forever. 

“Hello,” She says, her voice is different than it was over the phone, richer, more creole, and she can see just as well as hear the smirk on her face, the one that matches her mother’s and her own - yes, they were definitely family. 

“Hi,” Uma feels breathless, overwhelmed, and excited. That feeling of dread she had on the plane was long forgotten. 

Majestic placed her book on the table in front of her and gestured to the sofa directly across from her. “Well, have a seat, I know you’ve travelled far and we have much to do.” 

Ursula and Uma sit down and the closer that Uma get’s to Majestic the more the hair on her body begins to stand up in a reaction to Majestic’s power, it makes Uma want to rub her arms up and down to relax herself against the energy but Uma works very hard on staying still and trying not to grin to hard. 

“Do you remember anything about this place?” Is the first thing Majestic asks “This was the first place you ever practiced magic with me.” 

Uma takes this as another chance to look around but she shakes her head no “You feel familiar to me, but I’m sorry, I can’t remember anything.” 

Majestic nods “No need for apologies, I can unlock your memories if you drink my blood.” 

Uma’s eyebrows shoot up into her hairline “Huh?”

“Since your mother and I sealed your memories with my spell and blood, my blood can remove the spell.” 

Uma nods with wide eyes “Funky,” she says back and leans against the back of the sofa

Majestic stands and heads toward the bookcase in the corner of her sitting room and picks up a wine glass “Ursula, would you like anything to drink?”

“Merlot, if you have it,” 

“I always have it,” Majestic rolls her eyes 

She turns as she grabs another glass and hands them to Jacques who was standing as still as death at the entrance. He holds the glasses and watches Majestic as pulls out a knife and slices it through her left hand, turns the cut above one glass and wills the blood out of her body and into the glass. Uma watches, completely entranced until Majestic fills it up enough to be satisfied and then turns back to Jacques and says “And merlot for Ursula,” the man nods and heads out of the doorway while Majestic sits back down. 

“Will I be the first person to drink your blood?” Uma asks, she might not know a lot about ghouls but she did know, blood sharing was not something that wasn’t ghouls did. 

“No, surprisingly,” Majestic says and the smirk on her face there is a story there that Uma should ask about another time. Majestic turns to Ursula “So, how should we do this? Should we let the memories speak for themselves or do you want to explain over everything? Or should I?”

“Let her have her memories first, we can go from there.” Ursula answers Majestic but looks only at her daughter. “It’s time for her to see what she’s been missing all these years.” 

Jacques returns with her mother’s glass and places it in front of her at the same time Majestic takes the small glass filled with her blood and places it in front of Uma. The mother and daughter duo grab their glasses at the same time and Uma looks at the two older women, she tries to blame her racing heart on only excitement but she knows it’s fear too. 

“Well… cheers,” she says and downs the blood. 

Majestic’s blood tastes very different from Mal’s, it still tastes like blood but it lacks the smoky taste Mal’s has instead it’s sweeter and reminds Uma oddly of metallic fudge. 

When Uma swallows the blood she puts the glass down and finds her head to be a little woozy. 

“Oh!” is the last thing she says before her eyes snap shut and she is assaulted with memories passed. 


	4. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm noticing how very short these first few chapters are with this story and I wanna apologize for that. They get longer as the story progresses. The first few chapters are simply just build up for everything that happens later on. Since this one is so short leave me a comment if you would like me to post another chapter tomorrow or later today!

Maleficent knew she was in for a serious asskicking, she knew what it meant going to Vlad Dracul, he would take one look at her and now she wasn’t the same girl who mirrored his abilities, energy, presence, and skill. What she didn’t expect was to walk up to his castle and see him impaled vampires greet her with moans of pain… well, she did expect that. What she didn’t expect was the hard punch to the jaw from Vald as soon as he met her at the front of his castle. 

“Really Vlad?” Said his wife Lelia Tepesh; the dark haired, pale beauty was standing further into his massive gothic foyer, she steps into the light and towards her husband but looks straight at Mal. “I would apologize for him but you know him just as well as anyone else here and we both know he isn’t sorry.” 

Mal was still stroking her jaw and staring at the man in front of her, Dracula was not the “drop dead handsome” guy that Hollywood claims him to be, no, Vlad Tepesh was a six foot tall man with pale skin, a large strong but crooked nose, and eyes that were brown with flecks of green. His facial hair was grown out instead of the usual five o’clock shadow it was more of a full bread. 

“I was right,” Vlad says as he smirks grimly and his eyes flex to that vampiric green “you really have lost your touch. What happened to my glorious Twin Flame who killed anyone who dared to call you weaker than I? Or worse, my _successor?_ ” Vlad makes a tsking sound. 

“What do you think I’m here for? For you to make me back into the woman I was. As much as I hate to admit it, you’re a huge part of who I am and the reason I worked so damn hard in the first place.” 

“Yes,” Vlad says “I did make you a better fighter, flyer, taught you how to blow off people’s heads with one look” 

“I think she gets it Vlad,” Lelia says “don’t get a bigger head going down memory lane.” 

Vlad looks Maleficent up and down and then scoffs one more time “Come, to the gym we go.” 

The fight doesn’t start when they get into the gym though, Vlad lets Mal go past and instantly clunks her on the head - hitting her so hard she slams into the right side of the wall hitting stone that cracks under her,. Mal wants to grown in pain but she knows better, letting him hear her weakness was a sure way to get even more thrown at her. 

“Never turn your back on your enemy,” Vlad says, sounding a little too proud of himself. Mal rolls her eyes as she looks at his face and seeing his little grin sets something off inside her. 

“Alright you little asshole,” she says and flies out of the wall lands directly on Vlad’s shoulders, she grabs at his head on both sides and starts aggressively pulling on his hair which he leaves long and around his shoulders when she rips out a chunk of it Vlad laughs, grabs her left leg and flings her off of him, she’s sent soaring into the air of the hallway. Luckily Mal remembers the way to the gym from the last time she was here about twenty years ago so she turns so she facing Vlad grins wickedly, sticking out her tongue and darting away from him. 

“Think you can out fly me in my own castle girl? We’ll see about that.” Vlad's voice booms through the house as Mal continues to fly down to the gym making sure she doesn’t hit any of his staff or humans who happen to be walking down the corridors as she passes. As much smack as Vlad spoke he didn’t catch up to her as much she believed he would. He stayed behind her even as she made it to the gym door and threw it open. Mal was surprised when she looked around and saw most of his machinal workout equipment was gone but instead replaced with mats, bars, rope, and beams that reminded Maleficent of gymnastics. 

“Guess since you're married now you don’t have to worry about keeping your sexy muscles huh?” Mal says with a laugh but still makes sure to keep her body far enough away from Vlad’s so if he decides to do another sneak attack she’ll be able to see him coming. Since they were the only two vampires in the known existence to have the ability to use fire they tried very hard not to use it on each other, at least, not in the way that it would be lethal to one another. They had too much respect for one another to really try to cause one another harm. They might burn off a leg or two but never murder. Which would cause a war between their two lines more than thousands of vampires would be killed in defending their leader and humans would also be lost in the context and neither of them wanted that. 

“My wife’s abilities are to see your greatest sin with just one touch, but she also sends out electoral shocks to everything she touches - besides me and you because of our pyrokinesis so I found my old equipment to be rather redundant and have been moved to another gym in the castle. This room is better for us anyway and our sparring. We don’t use it either. It’s been a long time since I’ve fought with someone who was truly on my level Maleficent, I truly hope you do not disappoint me today, and if you do you are not allowed to leave until you are the woman Lavenra knew you were and why she gave her power.” 

And this is exactly why she came to Vlad and no one else, Vlad was the only person who knew everything Mal had been through from the very beginning when no one took her seriously even when she had the same powers as him, when she was older than him, when she had more kills than him. He knew who she was, how she was better and yet no one knew of her existence. He taught her how to be known, despite the fact she was a woman, despite the fact the vampires who were less than her treated her as if she were nothing. This is the man that made her hard, Mal vowed not to be soft any longer. 

“That’s exactly what I needed to hear,” 

Vlad’s grin is animalistic then a nasty fiery that Mal hadn’t seen in a long time but she still knew what it meant. 

They flung themselves at each other both grabbing at each other’s shoulders holding at full strength trying to fling the other into a wall. Their strength was so matched they both began to lift off the ground, floating in upwards instead of going one way or the other. Mal and Vlad were grinning at each other. As much as they could despise each other for their comparisons to one another there was no one else in the world they could spar with like this. 

Fire doesn’t burn Mal or Vlad instead it’s a part of them, it dances along their skin, warms them and fills them up and protects them. They can feel the difference between each other’s flames Mal’s seems to represent more of a shakier energy, not as focused on doing one thing but doing everything at once, while Vlad’s was as straight as a sword one thing on their mind and one thing only but both were just as effective as the other. 

When Mal and Vlad used their fire on each other they both found themselves worrying about if they could shoot off each other’s head with one look like they’ve done with so many others and simply decided never to try. Even with the strife they’ve had with each other they didn’t want the other dead. It was the unspoken rule that when things got really bad and they didn’t want to call anyone else they called each other. Even when they make their jokes and laugh about one another they have a loyalty to each other that will always remained unmatched compared to anyone else in their lives.

They spared for hours with just hand to hand combat, throwing punches, kicking legs, hard punches to the stomach and with each moment Mal found herself again, she forgot about the past instances with Audrey, she even forgot about Uma. It was just her again, she only had to look out for herself and no one else mattered. It had been so long since she had been carefree, it had been so long since she didn’t have to take care of anyone but herself, It felt so freeing to only worry about Mal for the first time in a long time. 

Then, Mal was impaled. 

“Fuck!” she yelled out as the pain of the long metal pole slices through her intestines, “Son of a bitch!” Mal clutches her stomach and a high pitched whine escaped her lips as she watches a few drops of blood leak around the pole. 

Mal doesn’t really know how what happens next, happens but her vision blurs turning everything into an odd shade of grey and she felt her body expand - she grew taller, her eyesight began to enhance even more, the clothing she wore changed into something else a warm leather feeling of new grey skin and finally her wings ripped free from her back. With her newly clawed hands Mal pulled the metal pole out her body and watched her new grey skin heal. She turned to look at Vlad. 

“I forgot to tell you,” She says grinning, her fangs slipping from the inside of her mouth “I got a little bit of an upgrade.” 


	5. Chapter Four

_ Summer of 2002 _

Uma was just about five years old the first time her mama told her she was going to go meet her great great great aunt in New Orleans! Uma had never even left Auradon before! How exciting to go to this new and fancy place! Mama said it was full of music and dancing and magic! Uma  _ loved  _ magic, her mama could make flowers grow for Uma! Whenever Uma was sad and crying her mama would come to her with a flower that hasn't bloomed yet and make it grow for Uma. Uma liked that a lot, she never pretended to be sad but it was so nice to know that if she did get sad her mama would be there for her with a flower to make things better. 

Mama told Uma that Uma one day could make flowers bloom too and that she could do and see things that other people couldn’t because Uma was  _ special _ . Uma had a different… What was the word? Bloodline! Than most people, that made Uma didn’t from others. Not better! But different. Mama didn’t want Uma getting a big head about being able to make flowers bloom when other people couldn’t. Uma didn’t want to make anyone feel bad about not being able to make flowers so she promised her mama she would keep it secret once her great great great aunt taught her all the cool stuff she was gonna learn this summer. 

Uma and Mama went to New Orleans by plane, Uma didn’t like that very much, the planes were so loud and bumpy! Uma liked going places by the car! The car didn’t make too much noise. Mama says that planes are faster though and the faster that they get there the faster Uma can learn magics. Uma wanted to learn the magic really badly! So she would go by plane and not complain…  _ too much _

When Uma and Mama got off the plane there was music everywhere, the airport played music, the music continued on the streets, there were people dancing, kissing, laughing, everywhere! The energy of the people all around Uma was crazy! So much fun! 

That’s when Uma noticed a lady standing in a long white dress and didn’t have that much color to her face. Uma tilted her head to the side. Did the lady look sad? Why was she sad? . 

“Are you okay?” Uma asked the lady next to her, and the woman looked down at her with a little surprise on her face. 

“You can see me, little one?” Says the woman and Uma smiles at her 

“I have Jolly Ranchers if you want one! You look sad.” 

This catches Mama’s attention “Honey, who are you talking to?”

“This lady!” Uma points at the woman in the white dress, she has long curly hair Uma thinks is supposed to be blonde and she’s starting to smile at Uma. For whatever reason it takes her mom some time, but she finally sees the lady next to them and she nods her head at her and says hello. Uma goes back to talking to the nice lady, she asks her why she’s sad and the lady tells her she had to leave her husband on the day they were supposed to marry. She was hurt so badly that she couldn’t be with him anymore and became a ghost, Uma didn’t really know what ghosts were but it made her sad. She asked the lady if she wanted to be friends, she said yes! She told Uma her name was Grace and she was happy to meet Uma, her mother, and was going with her to see her great great great aunt. Uma was happy to make more friends. 

Mama seemed fine with it too, maybe a little questioning but she didn’t focus on it too hard. Mama was good at letting Uma do as she felt in the moments of time she had. 

Mama walked Uma and Grace to a cute house that was all warm red and brown brick with a porch with a rocking chair and Uma liked the rocking chair! She threw herself in it and swung herself back and forth with her hips since her feet couldn’t touch the floor. Grace looked at her with such a warm smile Uma almost couldn’t believe how she had looked so sad before! Uma wanted to make sure Grace was happy for the rest of her days. 

Uma didn’t notice but Mama must have knocked on the door because suddenly a woman appeared in the doorway, she had lighter skin than Uma and Mama but Mama and the lady shared the same smile they grinned at each other and then both turned to look at Uma. 

“Why hello Uma, I’m Majestic,” She says leaning down and smiling at Uma “It is such a pleasure to meet you.” 

“My middle name is Majestic!” Uma said, throwing herself out of the rocking chair so she can face the tall woman in front of her, she sticks out her hand and Majestic takes it and gives it a firm little shake. They grin at each other. 

“I have so much to teach you, little one,” Then Majestic turns and looks at the other ghost at Uma’s side “Who have you brought here, child?” 

“I am Grace, born 1862 dead 1882, on my wedding day.” She says 

“Anyone you’re still tied to?” Asks Majestic 

“No one in your world ma’am,” Grace fades out of sight for a moment, then back in with more clarity “I spend most of my time watching my husband’s children and grandchildren who can’t see me. I never went anywhere else, until this little one told me hello.” She smiles down at Uma, “I would like to stay with her if that’s okay.” 

Something about this told Uma the lady in front of her, Majestic was a very big deal. But if she didn’t let Uma keep her new friend she would indeed throw a fit like Majestic had never seen before. 

“Stay, but that means aligning yourself with me and my line, are you willing to expect those responsibilities.” 

“Majestic, it would be an honor.” Grace says with a deep bow. 

“Are you a queen?” Uma asks, breaking the silence. 

Majestic grins “You smart girl, you may call me Auntie Marie.” 

_ Summer of 2007  _

“Grace!” Uma yells out laughing, it’s a warm day in Auntie Marie’s backyard so Uma and Grace are playing a game of Hide and Seek but with a supernatural twist. Grace is teaching Uma how to use her supernatural senses of feeling where other supernatural creatures are around her. It’s so fun! Uma has learned that when she focuses, closes her eyes and tries to connect with the buzzing energy of the areas closest to her she can feel when someone who is  _ ‘other’  _ like she is around her, she’s drawn to them, like a moth to a flame. Uma’s eyes are closed and she walks over to the right as the sun shines down on her face and moves toward the sizzling feeling Grace has given off for as long as she's known her. 

“You’re here!” Uma opens her eyes and there Grace is, smiling down at Uma and clapping her hands together. 

“You talented girl!” Grace grins at her “Majestic will be very happy with your progress,” 

Uma grins. Uma has spent the last four summers down in New Orleans learning magic with her mother and Auntie Majestic, it started simple with learning how to make flowers bloom with the right thoughts and intentions and now, simple magic like that feels like second nature, something that she’s always been able to do. Now she’s learning harder stuff, how to tell the difference between a ghoul, like Auntie Majestic, a witch like her mama, a demon with red eyes, a ghost like her best friend Grace, and a vampire. They all feel slightly different but Uma still hasn’t learned all the tells just yet. 

Now Uma was ten and spending every free moment she had with Grace and her Auntie Marie, Grace would watch and tell Uma how to improve her posture, how fluid her movements and magic were while Auntie Marie would teach her how to improve her speed, how to think quickly on her feet and protect herself with offensive magic. 

Uma hasn’t been attacked by anyone or anything thank the gods, but Majestic and her mother were preparing for the worst, Uma knew that Majestic was  _ the  _ powerful voodoo queen of New Orleans and if anyone found out of their relationship she easily could be used as bait and or taken for ransom. Uma doesn’t really know what that means but she does know that she should be able to defend herself. 

Grace and Uma spend the rest of the day sitting in the sun and playing games, Grace says she can’t really feel the sun on her skin anymore but she does enjoy pretending with Uma. Grace also tells her stories of her human life, her husband she left behind, and how he moved on and how he had many children and their children had children which gave her a second life purpose before she chose to leave that and join Majestic’s line and follow Uma. 

Uma asked her about her choice before and Grace’s answer was quite simple “You were the first kind person to speak to me in over fifty years, and just a child, and if a child could hold such kindness… I would like to see what brought you to the decision to always be kind.” 

Uma laughs “I’m a kid, Grace, being nice is what gets people to smile. I like smiles.” 

Grace grins at Uma and places her hand palm forward towards her and Uma grins back and slowly puts her hand along Grace’s. Even though Grace can’t really touch Uma, Uma can feel Grace’s energy deep inside her body from their hands, Uma knows it makes Grace feel closer to her and like they’re really connected. Uma likes the tingles. 

They don’t have to wait much longer for Majestic to return home with a few other ghouls behind her, she finds Uma and Grace in the backyard still, Uma drinking lemonade and Grace telling her more stories of the past, the pair together have made it all the way to the eighties. 

Majestic looks beautiful when she stops in front of Uma, wearing a simple white dress with yellow beads, a matching scarf over her hair, and pretty white shoes that make Uma melt with appreciation. “So what have you learned today, my darling?” and Uma gives her the rundown of everything she and Grace have done today. Majestic at first wasn’t a very friendly lady when it came to Grace; she treated her with a reserved energy but now they seem to enjoy being around each other. Uma only heard them argue once, and even then it was never that serious, it was about something called  _ remnants.  _

“Excuse me, Majestic, we have a problem. Your meeting with Maleficent and Vladimir has been moved up.” Says one of the ghouls who followed Majestic home, the people who worked for Majestic didn’t always speak to Uma or Grace… they barely spoke at all, more like shadows pressed against the walls.

“Please tell me why Vlad Dracul and Maleficent Valentine think they can move up our meeting? A meeting that isn’t set for another five years?” 

Uma… Uma was lost. 

“They say it’s now urgent something is Romania is stirring and they long for your guidance.” 

Uma watches Majestic’s face. She doesn’t really understand the problem but she does know her Auntie Marie, she watches as her face goes from the face reserved for Uma and her mother to the hard shell she uses for her ghouls to an expression completely flat but thoughtful. “Is war brewing?” she asked, her voice is quieter now “How many of mine are still in the nation?” 

“Over 1,200 ma’am” 

Majestic’s eyes close and she sighs deeply “When?” 

“They can leave within the year, ma’am.” 

“Fine. Keep me updated.” 

The ghoul behind her nods and begins to walk back towards the house again. 

“What’s wrong Auntie Marie?” Uma places her hand on Marie’s and squeezes. 

“If my people are in danger that means I will have to work with people I am not fond of, but to protect the people who are under my liege I would do anything for them to make sure they have everything they need or at least get them out of harm’s way as quickly as I can. This is what happens when you have a large line of people under your protection.” 

“Am I under your protection Auntie?” 

“Since the day you were born,” Majestic grins and squeezes Uma’s hand back “Come child, I’ll make you some more lemonade.” 

  
  


_ Summer of 2012 _

At fifteen Uma is at the status of the High Priestess, she works closely with Majestic’s ghouls but it has been kept a secret her relation from the majority who Uma is. If the world were to find out Majestic had living relatives who were not undead they could easily be used against Majestic and Uma’s normal life will be changed forever. Uma loved her magic, loved her Aunt, and didn’t want that to change. She was fine with being the quiet apprentice to the outside circle. 

“Darling,” says Majestic one day as she sits outside in the grass with Ursula, she calls Uma over who had just gotten back from the beach with Grace, she was learning how to surf. “It’s time to learn how to work with the remnants,” 

Uma’s eyebrows went up with surprise “Seriously?” 

Over the years Uma had begun hearing more and more stories about the remnants. Majestic secret weapon, as a young voodoo queen when she was alive Majestic had worked closely with the dead to the point where when she became undead herself the connection stayed so strong to the point where Majestic can pull the dead from the ground and have them do her bidding, the lost souls who have nothing left to lose, no thoughts of their own. 

Ursula and Majestic alike say that Uma has it in her as well, that connection to the dead and it’s only been growing stronger, her connection to Grace, the way she pulls to the supernatural over the living that surrounds her. Pulling remnants should be as easy as breathing for Uma. 

She didn’t feel any fear, just pure excitement.

“Let me get changed and we can start!” Uma grins, props her surfboard up and runs into the house, Grace following close behind. Grace didn’t really like the idea of Uma working with the remnants but she never allowed her disapproval to stop Uma from learning and become the best High Priestess she could be. As Uma runs to change Grace speaks up. 

“Promise me you’ll be careful, Uma, I don’t know what I would do without you,” says Grace. 

Uma stops dead in her tracks “Of course I’ll be careful, nothing terrible is going to happen to me. I will always be there for you as you have been here for me.” 

Grace is quiet and nods her head. Uma walks to her with a sad smile on her face. “I won’t leave you, I know you had to leave your family because of your death but I am with you, you can follow me anywhere.” Uma places her hand up, palm facing Grace and the ghost smiles sadly at her before placing their palms together and Uma feels that same tingle as before. 

A little more somber, Uma heads back down to her mother and Aunt and prepares for a new lesson. 

The three women were sitting in Majestic’s basement, there were no windows, no way for anyone supernatural or otherwise to overhear. Uma knew this was going to be one of the most serious pieces of magic she has been lucky enough to learn. 

“The call of the undead is in your blood in more ways than I can explain in one sitting, you are connected to nature, life, death, and birth are all parts of nature you can call on to help yourself in times of need. The remnants are like that as well, they are in your blood as I am. So to call on them you use your blood.” Says Majestic, she stands on the other side of the basement giving Uma enough room to move around if she needs. Uma still has trouble with staying still, her mind moves a mile a minute as she paces back and forth as she listens to her Auntie. 

“Blood calls to blood, you spill yours with the intention of calling remnants to you and they shall come, ready to do your bidding. You must call them with a clear head, you lady. You come to them with one intention and one intention only, if your mind is split in too many ways they will not respond in the way you want them or expect them too. With no thoughts of their own yours will be what fills their heads.” 

“So I have to be clear and precise with my intentions so I don’t cause accidental chaos.” 

Auntie Marie nods her head in agreement. “I had something made for you, my love,” she says walking towards Uma and slowly Majestic reaches her and opens her palm to show Uma a small silver snake ring, She slides it on Uma’s right pointer finger. “You don’t need to spill a lot of your own blood, and you may need to do this quickly and quietly in times of need. Never let your opponent see what you’re about to do and how you do it.” 

Uma nods her head as she watches Majestic pull off the head of the snake on her finger and show a fine, tiny, needle. One sharp enough that when Majestic takes the ring on Uma’s hand and presses it into her left hand she immediately bleeds. 

“Wow, that didn’t even hurt Auntie,” Uma says amazed as she watches the red blood pool into her palm. 

Majestic smiles “Good, it shouldn’t cause pain but if it did, just a little. If you’re calling remnants to you it should be a final warning, the way to end the war. Not the starting move. Using the remnants will kill your enemies. Are you sure you’re ready to learn this? You’re learning how to kill people, my darling.” 

Uma looks up into Auntie’s brown eyes and nods “I’m ready for anything.” 

Majestic grins. 

“Then let’s begin.” 

***

It’s later in the summer when Majestic’s home is attacked. 

Ursula, Marie, and Uma had all been in the kitchen making pasta - no one besides Majestic’s closest ghouls knew her home's location. The women had been in the house alone cooking and playing Al Green. Uma was in charge of the sauce, she was trying to decide whether or not she should add more basil when she got that usual  _ zing _ that feeling of electricity coming up and own her arms, making all of the hair on her body stand up when she feels an unfamiliar supernatural close by. Uma stiffened and turned to her aunt very quietly, very slowly, this was  _ not  _ a normal occurrence in the ten years she had been visiting every single summer she had never felt someone knew to arrive without a warning from her aunt or mother. 

“Auntie Marie,” Uma says her voice cautiously quiet “someone is here,” 

Marie was just about to answer when the windows crashed in and glass sliced against their skin. Everything happened very fast after that, Ursula threw herself atop of her daughter slamming them both into the floor. 

“What is the meaning of this?” Marie yelled out, Uma could hear a deep voice gasping out in pain but not answering her aunt’s question. Uma could feel the temperature drop in the kitchen even though it was a hot August day; a cool and unforgiving breeze found its way into the kitchen. Ursula and Uma both knew what that meant. 

Marie had the remnants attacking the intruder that slammed their way into the house, trying to one up the voodoo queen. Slowly, Ursula rose off of Uma probably because the situation was back under control so just as slowly Uma got up too and came to lock eyes with the intruder. 

It was a white man with dark green eyes, white hair, and deep set wrinkles around his eyes. Uma tilted her head to the side in confusion, she had never seen this man before, and he wasn’t a ghoul, his skin had that luminescent vampiric glow pale vampires all had, a weird shine right underneath their skin and Uma just couldn’t understand why he would invade the voodoo queen’s home? How would he know about it? 

“It’s not…” he began to speak, his voice deep but broken in pain as the remnants flew in and out of body, stealing his life force and claiming it as their own. Uma watched the remnants, the foggy gray apparitions pushing in and out of the intruders body and Uma watched his skin begin to change, age, before her very eyes as the remnants stole the man’s undead youth for themselves. Still, the man finds enough time to chuckle and speak through the undeniable pain he had to be feeling. “I’m just the distraction,” 

The women all turned to each other, it took one look, they didn’t have to say anything before Ursula and Uma took off. Uma ran towards the stairs to reach the second level, calling out for Grace as she moved, and Ursula to the basement. 

The basement was where Marie trained Uma if they weren’t working outside so down below were weapons: silver stakes, swords for decapitation, throwing stars but nothing of real value. Upstairs were the bedrooms, and if Marie had anything worth stealing it would be upstairs. Which is how Uma runs right into an intruder holding one of Majestic’s voodoo dolls in her bedroom. 

Uma had run right into the man's back and slammed back on to her bottom a little “oomf!” escaping her before she scrambled up and turned him around with all the strength she had in her fifteen year old body. The vampire looked alarmed at first but when he realized it was a young girl behind him began to grin something awful. 

“Hey little girl, you need to watch yourself.” He growls at her as his eyes begin to glow vampiric green, he backhands Uma, hard. Her whole body flies backward into the door she just walked through. She groans in pain feeling the door splinter under her but she gets back up - this is everything she had been training for. 

She doesn’t need to say anything she looks towards the bed spread and sends it around the man’s legs making it impossible for him to walk as she tries to get out of the room via the window on the opposite wall of her, he has so many of Marie’s books, dolls, and spell bottles in his hands. Uma  _ can’t  _ let him get away with them, as the man tries to run he falls and squirms trying to get out of dodge. 

“You stupid bitch!” he yells. 

“ _ Aw _ , I thought you just said I was a little girl.” Uma’s grin is devious as she looks at the other intruder. His hair is long, touching his shoulders, dark brown that matched his eyes with a crooked nose. The closer she gets to this vampire the more she can feel his energy, it radiates off him like noting she felt before, it’s not his power level - like how she feels with most vampires and ghouls but it’s almost as if his body is letting her feel how much blood he has inside him. 

It calls to her like a beacon, almost as if she could hear it sitting in his veins, singing her name. 

“Let me try something I’ve never done before.” Uma laughs and stares at the man’s vein in his neck that was sticking out as he struggled with the blanket around his legs. She pictured all of the blood in his body moving forward, up,  _ up _ ,  _ upwards  _ towards the one vein she had her eyes locked on at first she didn’t think it was working at all but as she watched the vein she noticed the others along his neck and face pulsing towards her favorite on his body.

“The fuck are you doing to me witch?” the man yelled out in confusion and rage but Uma just smiled. 

“I’m killing you.” She smiled. Uma wasn’t really thinking much about his worthless man but knew he needed to go, Maire would keep his partner alive but in enough pain he’ll spill his guts about why they came to Marie’s home. You don’t need two vampires alive to tell the same story. 

Uma was picturing all of the blood inside the man’s coming up and slowly, painfully, piercing through his skin and leaking out, bleeding himself dry. She watched his blood poured out of the tiny whole in his neck and he gasped and tried to pull away. 

“ _ No, no, no, _ you’re not going anywhere you need to fill his boat.” 

It was like, Uma didn’t know how she was doing this, but she was fully aware of it, she leaned down in the vampires blood and starting writing out eight perfect symbols, this would usually kill anyone who tried this if they weren’t strong enough but Uma wasn’t using her own blood and quite frankly didn’t care what happened to this man. But Uma knew this is what she had to do somehow it was in her. 

She had been dreaming of the boat and the man inside it for a long time, and something tells her now is the perfect time to see if she has been truly  _ dreaming _ or if she was just waiting for the perfect time to set something new in motion. 

By the time she finished the symbols the man was outright sobbing in pain, from the blood loss or if he knew what this meant for him she truly didn’t know nor did she care. She felt it when it was complete, how the energy of the room became colder, harder, how the red carpet under turned into blackness so hard that rippled like a calm ocean night. Something told her she made the right decision. 

Slowly a long black boat appeared, shirking souls already inside it at first the man paddling the boat looks like nothing at all, just blackness, a dark figure with no face, but slowly he begins to change and turns into a familiar sight from Uma’s dreams. A man with strikingly beautiful features skin so bronzed like he spends years in the sun with hair so platinum it was white with hints of gold and blue and Uma was mesmerized. 

“You’re real.” she breathes out 

The man looks Middle Eastern with his thick eyebrows, full lips, but his blonde hair and unnatural silver eyes let’s Uma know he is more than just a man. “I dream of you, most nights.” 

The man doesn’t answer at first but finally speaks “You are the first of my children to call on me with such ease, a death that was not your own, or to ask of a favor.” 

“I’m your daughter?” Uma gasps “That’s why I dream of you? It’s why I know your symbols?” 

The man nods “I go by many names, Aken The Warden, Duat God of the Underworld, Hades, and many more.” 

The silence between the two stretches and only when the man at Uma’s feet whimpers does she remember. “Oh! I have him to fill your boat. He attacked my mom and my Aunt.”

Aken nods his head and somehow the man begins to lift up and fall into the boat as the man begins to scream and shout for freedom. Aken looks back at Uma. “Thank you, for always staying on the path you were created for.” 

Uma just nods and watches as the boat turns away and disappears. 

“Holy… shit…” she says when he’s gone. 

“Holy shit indeed,” says a new voice

Uma turns around to see her aunt and her mother staring at her, the strangest look on their faces and something tells Uma… she’s in trouble. 


	6. Chapter Five & Chapter Six

“You are finally the monster you wanted everyone to view you as so desperately in your youth.” Vlad says starting up at the rising sun. Mal and Vlad were sitting on the castle rooftop drinking a fine mix of blood and wine as they spoke, Vlad had never seen something like Mal’s transformation. “I never claim jealousy but I do think I would also like wings,” Vlad’s Romanian accent is thicker now with want and Mal chuckles. 

“I wish I could tell you how it works, but it was all Uma, she gifted me with… all of that right before she died.” 

“You had to bring her back as a vampire or a ghoul?” Vlad asks “You changed her?” 

“No, she… she  _ exploded  _ when she died, it was the strangest thing, and then… someone else brought her back. Do you know of Duat?” 

“The god of the underworld brought her back?” 

“She’s a demigod, Vlad, Duat is her father.” 

“You’re dating the daughter of Hades.” Vlad says deadpan “And I thought I was cool for marrying a woman who could see your worst sin the first time she touches you. You continuously find a way to one up me Maleficent.” 

“And yet, you’ve never been almost killed in the past two hundred years.” 

“Ah, but being with Lelia has caused me just as much trouble as your love will start causing you, you just have to remember what we were always taught. If something is hard, you have to be  _ harder _ , you have to be  _ stronger _ .” Vlad takes a deep breath, another sip of wine before speaking again “Myhali Sylagzi has almost killed my wife, has made my wife try to kill me, and herself more times in the past before I finally killed him, I wanted him to suffer, I wanted him to feel the pain he has caused me for all this time.” 

“And did he suffer?” 

Vlad sighs, “Not as much as I would have liked, I would have tortured him for years to come, but he was too cunning, and I was too full of rage. Lelia also couldn’t stand to see him suffer much more than me burning him alive, which was unfortunate, but I came to peace with it.” 

Mal is quiet for a few moments, watching the sunrise before she speaks again. “I feel foolish Vlad, I feel like I was too weak to notice someone was betraying me in my own home… Audrey got the one up on me more times than I’m willing to admit and if Uma didn’t give me the power upgrade… I don’t think I would be sitting here next to you.” Mal turns to Vlad honest green eyes matching colder ones. “I need you to turn me back into who I was when we were young and ruthless.” 

Vlad looks into Mal’s eyes, staring intensely “You know if I do this I won’t take it easy on you.” 

“Why do you think I’m here with you and not with Evie? That’s what I’m here for.” 

“And your lover… has never seen you at your worst…” 

“Do you think this - what we do here - will change how I treat her?” 

“It will change how you view everyone around you, she included.” 

Mal takes a deep breath “I need this for my people, if someone hurts them or me, I would be a failure. So let’s do this.” 

Vlad continues to look at Mal, slowly, he nods his head and then pushes her as hard as he can off the roof. 

***

Hours pass, sweat rolling down Mal’s back as she breathes harshly, even though vampires don’t need to breathe it does still help when they overextend themselves. Mal was over extended, she had lost her shirt hours ago in the next fight with Vlad, her pants were barely hanging on by the ripped seams and there were six platinum stakes sticking out of her stomach. 

“This is what you wanted, you need to remember how it feels to be at your lowest-” Says Vlad standing over Mal’s body he leans in close so close she can feel the heat of his breath on her face as slowly his hand seeps into her chest and his nails scratch at her heart. “So, this is you, at your lowest, and now I am going to build you back up into the woman I know you actually are. I see how much pain you’re in. It’s okay, you can scream.” 

The scream is earth shattering. 

Mal lets herself be beaten, bruised, impaled, and doesn’t fight back. She lets herself be broken, to feel as miserable as she did the moment she realized she was losing her fight with Audrey. She thinks about the look on Uma’s face the moment she died, how she felt when she watched her explode. She needed to feel all of the pain she hadn’t allowed herself to fully process at the time. How could Mal have been so foolish to let herself go to the point she wasn’t checking on her people well enough to know who was going to betray her? 

“I think you should stay in the dungeon for a few days, think about where your miscalculations have led you.” Vlad releases Mal’s heart from his grasp and walks away from her eyesight and begins dragging her away by her leg, she knows he’s going to drag her down the dirty stares of the dungeon but before that through the main area of his castle just to humiliate her, but that’s alright. She needs to be humbled into being a smarter leader. Maleficent is a master fucking vampire and hasn’t been acting like one in over a hundred years. This was the treatment that made her the stone cold war queen she was in the early 1600s. Maleficent was still stuck on how she could truly have lost her way from the woman she once was. Was she more ruthless now as an ancient vampire or as a young human girl who killed the family that abused her? 

Mal didn’t realize how fast Vlad was moving until he lifted her to the wall and chained her arm by arm, leg by leg, stretched out like a star. When Vlad looked into Mal’s eyes he stopped for a moment. 

_ Don’t break,  _ Mal thought in her mind  _ If you break, then I’ll break and then I’ll cry, I do not need to cry right now. Not in front of you.  _

“I’ll be back in a few days, I’m going to let you call your Uma some time tonight though, and let her know she will not be hearing from you for at least a week. You need to take this time to remember who you were before her, before Audrey, and before anyone dared to ever speak your name in vain.” Vlad nodded his head at Maleficent one last time before turning and leaving her in the dark, stinky, dungeon. Surrounded by the cries of the enemies Vlad would never kill but torture until the end of his days. 

_ Summer of 2012, The night Uma loses her powers. _

“You had sex with a GOD?” Auntie Marie swings to Ursula and Ursula steps back, hands up in surrender. 

“It was the 90s! I didn’t actually know he was a god! I was seeing a lot of different men at that time! But seeing him in that boat… that’s him, that’s her father. I should’ve known. She’s more powerful than any witch I've ever seen at her age.” 

The two women in front of Uma switch to Creole, kicking Uma out of the conversation, even though she does understand most creole, they were speaking so fast and over each other Uma’s translation brain couldn’t keep up. She didn’t understand why this was such a bad thing. So… Uma’s dad was a god, her aunt was a ghoul, her mom was a witch, Uma was a demigod, so what? Uma read Percy Jackson! She knows how this goes.

But Uma kept hearing bits that were “knows too much,” “too powerful to control,” and “what’s her path?” before they finally just left the room and began talking without her. Marie called her ghouls and had them clean up the mess from the intruders and Grace took Uma out of Marie’s bedroom and to the beach where they walked across the water as Uma explained her side of things. 

“I think everything is going to change when we get back there darling, do you think you can handle that?” Grace asks 

“What do you mean?” Uma asks 

“Something tells me neither Marie or your mother are going to be okay with you fully knowing how powerful you are, what that means for them, and what that means for you. You could overthrow Majestic’s empire!” 

“But I wouldn’t do that, I don’t want to be the voodoo queen of New Orleans.” 

Grace sighs “You say that now, but that doesn’t mean that will always be the truth.” 

Uma had a feeling it would always be the truth but she wasn’t going to be rude to Grace who was the only adult speaking to her right now. “So what do you think they’re going to do to me?” 

Grace sighs, something she didn’t do often, Grace never really got upset about anything. She was the one who listens and takes care of Uma. To see her floating next to Uma, head down, and obviously tormented by her own thoughts is what let Uma know things were about to change for the worst. “They’re going to strip you of your powers, you’re going to have to relearn everything on your own and they’re going to pretend that none of this ever happened, Uma.” 

Uma gasps “Why the hell would they do that?” 

“Because they can? Because they’re powerful women who don’t want you to get hurt and don’t want you to know too much.” 

“They really believe I would overthrow Majestic?” 

“Or try to become a god before you’re even sixteen,” 

“Why can’t they just talk to me about it?” Uma asks exasperated

“Adults don’t ask children what they want very well.” 

“Wait… Grace… does that mean I’ll forget you too?”

Grace nods her head and tears well in Uma’s eyes. 

“But… you’re my best friend. I can’t lose you too.” 

Grace looks away for a moment “I am under Majestic’s line, which means I have to follow my rules, she may ban me from leaving New Orleans and following you back to Auradon. I’m sure they’re going to send you home and I can’t keep such secrets from my darling girl.” 

Tears spill down Uma’s “If I can I’ll try to remember you,” 

“I believe you darling, now, let me prepare you for what is bound to happen next.” 

***

They give it to Uma in a tea that almost kills her, they say it’s a night spell to help her sleep, to put her mind at peace with the nights events, Uma had  _ indeed  _ just killed a man but she didn’t feel anything about it, not anxious or sad, nor disappointed in herself. That man had been trying to steal from her great aunt and she knew she did the right thing by calling the Warden to her with his blood and sending him away. Her mother never told her why the men had broken into Majestic’s home. Just told her it was no longer safe there and Majestic would be moving to a new home in New Orleans by the next day and she and her mother would be on a plane back to Auradon. 

They didn’t lie to her about the tea, instead they didn’t even tell her they were stripping her memories away. The tea was only to help her sleep, they said. But as she sat in the living room with her family she felt how the tea ripped at her stomach and then her head, ripping her memory to sherds in the most painful experience she had ever felt, she had fallen off the sofa and onto the ground screaming and aching in pain as the two powerful women began to chant, sealing away her stolen memories with Majestic’s blood. 

Uma woke up six days later back in Auradon with fake memories planted in her brain to make her believe her life was as mundane as any ordinary witch, but Uma, was so much more. 

***

_ Present Day _

When Uma’s eyes slammed open she was sitting in Majestic’s crypt on the red sofa with the dim lighting around and she jumped away from the two women, gasping, heart racing. The glass that was in her hand slipping to the ground and shattering at her feet. 

“Goddess!” She yelled out, looking around, gasping, touching at her own chest, her face, and felt her heart under her hands. “You, sick bastards,” she says looking at the only two women she shares blood with shock at what she learned still all over her face. “How could you do that to me?” she gasped 

“Don’t be such a dramatic child,” Ursula said back to her and Uma frowned. What happened to her mom? Before, when they spent so much time in New Orleans she was so open, so available emotionally, who is this woman in front of her for the last nine years?

“What happened to you?” Uma gasped then turned to Majestic “Did you really think I would try to overthrow you? Truly? Like Grace believed? Oh goddess..  _ Grace _ , where is Grace?”

The two older women looked at each other and then back at Uma. 

“Grace is still in my line but I haven’t seen her in five years. No one has.” 

Uma’s heart sank. How do you find a missing ghost? 

“I.. I can’t… I need a moment.” 

And then Uma was running, out of the crypt, out of the cemetery, and away from all the lies of what her life was.

Uma found herself at her favorite beach, the one Grace always took her too every time she came to New Orleans. Uma couldn’t believe how much of her life she had forgotten, the magic she had learned - she was a High Priestess - a young woman who stands in the light and the dark. She spent years studying magic with her mother! With her ancestor! Just for the memories to be forgotten. She met her father before, she called on her father from the dreams she used to have about him. Does this mean Uma had been dreaming about her siblings too? 

How much… had been taken away from her? 

By her mother, the mother who started to stay away from her after she turned fifteen? The ancestor who stripped away her memories because Uma may become too powerful? So they leave Uma alone to figure this out on their own? When they took all of this away from her does that mean they really believed Uma was going to take a turn for the worst? Overrun with the idea of power? Do these women really not know her at all? All Uma has ever wanted was just to exist and have a good time, she doesn’t want to rule the world or control it. She just wants to live with her magic. She didn’t want a line of her own or a power struggle against her family. 

Uma grabbed at the phone in her pocket and debated on calling Mal. It had been too long since they spoke, but she checked the time and saw it was almost midnight and Mal would be calling soon enough as is. How long did it take for Uma to get her real memories back? Hours? 

Uma sat down and stared into the dark water and waited, just fifteen minutes, until a woman who was actually devoted to her could listen and understand what she was going through. 

Mal called five minutes early. 

“Hi,” Uma said 

“What’s wrong?” 

“How do you know something’s wrong?” 

“I know you a little bit,” Mal says with a chuckle but Mal’s voice is raspy and a little rugged. Like she’s having a hard time as well. “I can hear the difference in your voice, darling, what’s wrong?” 

“I got my old memories back, and everything I found out about my mom and Majestic… I didn’t like what I saw.” and so Uma began to explain everything that she learned by looking into her old memories. 

“I always knew Majestic was a cruel bastard but never that harsh.” Mal says with a sigh. “What can I do for you?” 

“Just listen to me to be sad, and miserable, and how much this sucks. How am I supposed to trust them now? When they took my memories for no real good reason?” 

“I mean,” Mal starts “You did summon Duat, you do know that usually kills anyone who tries?” 

“So, I’m powerful, big deal, but I was literally raised by a voodoo queen and a witch! Surrounded by ghouls, ghosts, and vampires, what did they expect?” 

“Also a valid response, my love,” Says Mal and Uma can picture her leaning back in a chair playing with her purple hair as she waits for Uma’s next response. Her eyes flashing between her natural and vampiric green. 

“I don’t know how to face them now, what should I do?” 

“If I were in your shoes, I would kill them.” 

“Mal, I can’t kill the voodoo queen of New Orleans.” 

“No, you can’t, but you can set some boundaries when you go back in there, you can demand that Majestic find Grace - which she can, that ghost is in her line, she’s got people to find her. You can choose to not learn anything from her at all except your memories and then you can come meet me in Romania.” 

“I don’t think I could stay in Dracula’s castle without getting killed by him because I  _ will  _ call him Dracula.” 

Mal laughs warm and open, something Uma didn’t know she missed in the few hours they spent apart. She can tell there’s something no Maleficent’s mind but Mal won’t bring it up until she knows Uma is okay, or maybe even not at all. Mal tends to be private about her own emotions. They sit in the silence of the phone call for a while, Mal listens to Uma breathe in silence but something tells Uma that if she could see her lover she would be smiling at her. 

“I guess I gotta get back to my…  _ family _ ,” Uma says the word ‘family’ like her mouth is full of squid. “Stay on the phone with me until I make it back to the crypt?” 

“Absolutely.” 

***

Jacques is waiting for Uma outside of the gates to the cemetery, he didn’t say anything to her, just nods his head and turns walking her back the way she came. It was so strange to come back and see everything with old eyes, Uma has been here many times before now things look familiar instead of new and spooky. Just hours ago Uma had been so afraid of everything around her. Now as they walk down Majestic’s grave and she looks at the human skeletons that light up the underground walkway, Uma remembers how she named them all Jerry when she was nine. 

When she gets back to the sitting room Uma sees her mother and Majestic standing by the fireplace speaking to each other quietly in Creole, they stop when Uma clears her throat. They turn and look at her, waiting for her to speak, to make the first move. 

“I need you to find Grace, Marie, you have one of the biggest lines in all of the world. I know if you put your people on it they’ll find her. I don’t know what you did or said to her to make it impossible for her to follow me back to Auradon but I know you can find her. She’s a ghost, she’s already dead. I know you can’t and no one else could have killed her.”

Majestic doesn’t say anything but instead nods her head in agreement. 

“Neither of you will be spelling me like that ever again, I never thought y’all would do something to hurt me so badly, but here we are. I don’t want anything from either of you, I don’t even want to learn magic from either of you. I can’t trust anything y’all say to me.” 

“But we are all you have, all the family you have, the only people you can trust.” Ursula says but before Uma can answer Majestic speaks up. 

“I’m not sure if that’s true, I didn’t want to say anything earlier but now that Uma thinks she can make demands I think I can make some of my own. Why do you reek of vampire?” 

Uma stiffens. “I’m dating one, my best friend is one,” 

“Smells like you’ve been marked, sugar, sleeping with one. Do you know what that means?” 

“ _ Thatttt _ I’m getting my back blown out on a regular basis?” 

Ursula snickered 

“Foolish,” Marie says back and Uma rolls her eyes. 

“Maybe, but maybe it wouldn’t be ‘foolish’ if I had my old memories and I knew what I knew at fifteen at twenty-three.” 

Uma was starting to feel anxious now, pulling at her fingers, instead of letting her foot tap like she really wanted too. Her energy had been pressed down for so long, trying to keep it together for this meeting and getting her memories back but now she needed to do something, needed to swim or workout, just use her restless energy and make it into something positive. 

“Why don’t we call it a night? I had Jacques set up our hotel rooms so we can get some rest and meet at Majestic’s house tomorrow night. How’s that sound?” Ursula says, even though she says nice words her tone is harsh, there’s no arguing with her tonight. 

Uma nods, if she’s lucky the hotel will have a pool and she can swim for a few hours before crashing. If Uma tries to sleep now she’ll just be staring up at the ceiling for six hours and not sleep at all. 

“Sounds great.” Uma snaps and turns back out of the crypt and heads out Jacques following quickly behind her. 

***

When Uma makes it to her hotel room, she sits on the bed and immediately calls Harry. “That tea almost killed me Harry, it’s like, I can still feel the pain. It was awful, it was like it was ripping at my brain and my stomach.” 

“That powerful magic love, but you’re powerful too, that’s why it didn’t kill you. And if your family had wanted to kill you, I hate to say it but I’m sure they would have love.” Harry is quiet on the other end of the phone after that, the quiet stretches between the two friends but it doesn’t feel awkward or angry. But finally, Harry speaks up again. “Do you want to leave New Orleans, love? I can meet you at the airport.” 

Uma stops and thinks about it. She didn’t even really think leaving was an option. She came here with her mom to find out what her family was keeping from her and something was telling Uma even though she had her memories back that she didn’t have all the facts. That’s what she needed more than to fix her broken ego. 

“No, I can’t leave, I have to find out what happened back then, what it means for me now. Maybe they can help me find my siblings I’m supposed to be looking for.” 

“But can you trust them to tell you the truth?” 

“Um… no, I don’t think I can, but I guess that will be the last thing I ask them for then.” 

“I don’t like this,” says Harry “I don’t like the way you sound, should I come down there?” 

“No, I don’t think I want anyone else at the mercy of Majestic and Ursula. I love you, Harry, thank you listening to me rant about this. You’ve always been my closest friend.” 

“And closest friend I’ll always be, love.” 

It’s a few hours later when Uma’s phone rings again and surprised to see it’s Mal calling, excitement floods her. She was just about to try to fall asleep and hearing from her girlfriend will be the perfect thing to lure her into dreaming. 

“I’m so glad you called.” Uma starts but gets cut off my gruff voice. 

“I’m so glad to disappoint you, but this isn’t Maleficent, she’s in my dungeon right now.” 

Uma’s eyes go wide and for a moment she’s too stunned to speak “Vlad..?” 

“Yes, this is Vlad Tepesh, here to let you know Maleficent will be unavailable for some days, but she will call you as soon as she is able.” 

“You locked her up? Is this her doing some training? Did you beat her up Vlad?” 

“I would say the sparring was pretty even at some points.” 

Uma bites her lip. She was talking to  _ Dracula  _ on the phone, who was holding her girlfriend hostage in his castle dungeon right now on the other side of the world. “This feels weird.” is all Uma can think to say. 

“One day, you’ll have a conversation about this with my wife and laugh, until then, be safe Uma.” 

The Prince of Darkness hangs up. 

“Well… fuck a duck.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I'm gonna be posting updates every Tuesday!


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